Public Authorities

We keep focusing on Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche and its Demand-Responsive Transport network “TAD Ile-de-France Mobilités” (ex Flexigo Gally-Mauldre).

Our first ride on dynamic Demand-Responsive Transport from Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche train station takes us to the town hall square on which we meet Samir. Samir is one of the DRT drivers. His service is over and he was kind enough to give us a few minutes.

The service has positive reputation among the local residents as Saint-Nom-la Bretèche with no transportation was a very serious issue. The service also seduces non-residents for very different uses. It allows to mix all types of users and nationality, people are seeing each other more frequently than before.

For Quentin, 27, a young Parisian, passing through St-Nom-la-Bretèche and met a little later, the service is a real vector of social link.

We feel that there is a desire to connect people, to make them move together. The minibus is modern, the driver knows your name and you have to announce yourself when you get on. It gives the impression the driver knows personally the people he picks up.

Quentin uses the service for the first time:

It’s the friends I’m meeting at St-Nom-la-Bretèche who told me about it. They would have picked me up at the train station if the service didn’t exist. At least I don’t disturb and I preserve my autonomy. It is mind-blowing that the service is included in my Navigo pass. Even if I live in Paris, I would have liked to hear more about the service. There are zero ads, it might have motivated me to spend a little time in the outer suburbs, especially on weekends when the weather is good.

On the way back, we approach Christian, 52, working in St-Nom-la-Bretèche for several years and living in Mantes-la-Jolie. He testifies:

Without this service, I would have had to come much earlier to work. I spend almost the same travel time by car but at least I avoid the traffic jams and I save my gas. I can also avoid pollution because my car remains at home.

When we ask him what he thinks about the booking app, he confesses:

I’m not very comfortable with smartphones so I book my rides in advance by phone, usually for the whole week. It’s good they kept a phone number to call.

About TAD IDFM Gally-Mauldre

• 11 towns served
• Launched on January 2nd, 2018
• Co-financed by Ile-de-France Mobilités and the Gally-Mauldre inter municipality
• More than 250 trips / weekday
• Operated by Transdev
• 6000 trips / month
• + 95% of bookings made via the mobile application
• 95% of punctuality
• The DRT service was set up to facilitate intermodality by allowing the inhabitants of the territory to access the train stations of Maule, Plaisir and Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche at peak hours without using their personal vehicle. The service also facilitates senior and non-motorized youth travels in the area by offering off-peak hours services during weekdays and Saturdays to cities of the inter municipality and train stations.

Read more (in French)

Meet other users of Dynamic Demand-Responsive Transport

To respect their anonymity, the first names of the interviewees have been modified.

On the occasion of the 18th edition of the European Mobility Week, focus on the west of Paris in Saint-Nom la-Bretèche and its Demand-Responsive Transport network “TAD Ile-de-France Mobilités” (ex Flexigo Gally-Mauldre).

Once arrived at the Foret de Marly train station, we go to the DRT stop and wait for the minibus that we booked a few hours before via the “TAD IDFM” app. Once aboard, we meet Huynh, 39, who has just moved to St-Nom-la-Bretèche. She heard about the service from her husband who got the information on internet:

Although I don’t use it very regularly, I am truly satisfied. It’s very practical and easy to book.

Huynh uses the service to go home located 30 minutes on foot from the train station.

Before, I moved to the station by car, now I can book a minibus in advance, which are available anytime. I save fuel and I don’t need to park or pay for it. I know I can rely on this service for my daughter’s travels to and from the train station which is located in the middle of the forest. It reassures me to know that a minibus is waiting for her when she comes back from Paris at night.

Akhil, 17, high school student, also living in St-Nom-la-Bretèche, is silently listening to us from an adjacent place. He intervenes:

There is no comparison possible. Before, I hitchhiked sometimes to go to school in the morning or to go back home in the evening. It wasn’t easy and I walked sometimes more than 45 minutes when no one wanted to pick me up. It was really tough and unsafe. This service reassures my parents, especially when it’s dark.

For Akhil who has no problem in handling the application, the time slots available are many but sometimes don’t match the train schedules :

We end up having sometimes 15-20 minutes to wait otherwise we miss the train.

The student adds that efforts in terms of communication and acculturation still have to be done:

Sometimes, people can’t get on the bus because they don’t know that they have to book a ride. It’s frustrating for them and the driver and it could be avoided if everyone knew the rules of the game from the beginning. At the train station, no one can really explain the service operation and the signs – when they exist – are not clear enough in my opinion.

We get off the bus at the “Europe 1” stop to meet Mélanie, 37, on the town hall square. Mélanie is a young mother who lives 5 minutes from there.

I use my car exclusively, I never needed to use the service but I find it convenient. I may use it if I have an issue with my car and need to go urgently to the train station or the surroundings.

At mentioning previously-met Akhil and Huynh’s testimonies, Melanie confesses:

My children will start to move alone soon and it is true that it’s a solution that would reassure me.

Read the next chapter

About TAD IDFM Gally-Mauldre

• 11 towns served
• Launched on January 2nd, 2018
• Co-financed by Ile-de-France Mobilités and the Gally-Mauldre municipality
• More than 250 trips / weekday
• Operated by Transdev
• 6000 trips / month
• + 95% of bookings made via the mobile app
• 95% of punctuality
• The DRT service was set up to facilitate intermodality by allowing the inhabitants of the territory to access the train stations of Maule, Plaisir and Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche at peak hours without using their personal vehicle. The service also facilitates senior and non-motorized youth travels in the area by offering off-peak hours services during weekdays and Saturdays to cities of the inter municipality and train stations.

Read more (in French)

Meet other users of Dynamic Demand-Responsive Transport

To respect their anonymity, the first names of the interviewees have been modified.

On the occasion of the 18th edition of the European Mobility Week, we’re heading east: La Ferté sous-Jouarre, to meet the users of the recently inaugurated TAD Ile-de-France Mobilités Demand-Responsive Transport network. Located less than an hour by train from Paris, the La Ferté-sous-Jouarre train station is particularly busy during peak hour. The bus station nearby is a hub for school buses to neighboring municipalities during weekdays.

Mylène, 48, is a driver of one of the Transdev Darche-Gros buses dedicated to the DRT service. She is performing her first service of the day and is waiting for the users.

I had some difficulties with the driver’s tablet at the beginning, but after a few minutes of use, everything becomes very easy. The application we use informs us of the number of passengers that have to pick up, their name and  their destination. Each passenger must give his name to get a seat on board. I find it allows to create a real contact with the passengers. Before they were hardly speaking to us. Now we even tell each other a little bit about our lives. A teenager I drive every day explained to me that thanks to the service, the custody was now better shared between her parents.

Hugo, 15, who has already had his seat on the bus, is waiting with the driver for the the passengers. Hugo lives in Rebais, 20 minutes from La Ferté. His parents heard about the service on the radio and had him download the application. Since then, he uses it every day mornings and evenings.

In general I book in advance for the whole week, since I already know my class time schedules. Before there was no transport between La Ferté and Rebais so I had to make a detour via Meaux. I had to take the Transilien and I easily lost 30-40 minutes.

Mourad, 40, who is listening to us, testifies:

I work in Paris and I live in Rebais. I use the service since its creation. As for me, it means less stress and fatigue compared to the car I used to drive to go to the train station. I had to leave it on the parking lot. In terms of travel time, it’s exactly the same. The booking? I do it on the application, it’s done in not even two minutes, everything goes very fast, it’s great.

Another DRT vehicle arrives. We talk to Nicolas, his driver.

This is a service that was eagerly awaited by locals. Indeed, most of them live in small villages where you can only go by car. We may still be in Paris region and one hour from the city, it’s the countryside here. Once the rush hour is over, there is no one. The service has just been launched and there is still much to do in term of signage and communication but we see new passengers everyday. We started with 1-2 users. Now we are more around 10-12 users. People who were struggling to go home before. Most of them are kids. People say it is a service that threatens conventional bus lines but I would say the opposite. This is a good way to test the attendance of the service and then develop a fixed line if necessary. For now, we still use our big buses but we have new minibuses coming soon. They will be more suitable. Most of the time we stop at bus stops that already existed. It’s easier for the users.

About TAD IDFM  La Ferté (first figures after 10 days of operation)

• 4 towns served, about 19,000 inhabitants concerned
• Launched on September 2, 2019
• Co-financed by Ile-de-France Mobilités and the Coulommiers Pays de Brie inter municipality
• Operated by Transdev Darche-Gros
• Up to 20 bookings / weekdays
• 95% of bookings made via the mobile app
• 95% of punctuality
• The service was set up to open up the north-eastern sector of the department by improving intra-agglomeration mobility. The objective is to facilitate the connection between the communes of La-Ferté-sous-Jouarre, Rebais and La Ferté-Gaucher and to improve the service of the transport nodes (La Ferté-sous-Jouarre bus and railway stations).

Read more (in French)

Meet other users of Dynamic Demand-Responsive Transport

To respect their anonymity, the first names of the interviewees have been modified.

We are heading to Le Cotentin, Normandy and its urban area to meet the (young) users of the La Saire TAD Demand-Responsive Transport network, inaugurated last summer 2019.

First step at the “College” stop which is located opposite the Denis Diderot high school in Tourlaville, a town located in the urban area of Cherbourg. We meet Antoine, 12, who is patiently waiting to go to class. He confesses:

I don’t use the service because I already live next to the high school and I like to walk or use my scooter to get there. Nevertheless, several people of my class take the La Saire TAD Demand-Responsive Transport every time we finish classes. I see them get on board. They mainly use it to go home after school but not every day. Before using it, most of them came by car with their parents.

If I had to use it myself, it would be mostly to go to town. The big advantage I see is that the van can come at times the bus might not be there. It’s more convenient and faster.

Four of Antoine’s comrades arrive precisely at the moment we are talking. When they get off the La Saire TAD Demand-Responsive Transport, we question them successively. For Mathis, 12 years old, who lives in Le Becquet, he heard about the service at the beginning of the school year.

Of course I’m not the only one around to use it. I book the van directly from my smartphone every week, several days in advance. It’s been between 1 and 2 months that I use it mainly to go to high school, which avoids me to go by bike or by foot. It takes between 10 and 30 minutes to get there. It’s complicated when it’s cold and rainy. In addition, in winter it’s dark very early and the street is not enlightened where I live.

Mickael, same age, same grade, adds:

It’s a very convenient service because buses come here only every two hours. I use it with a friend who books for me. As we live in the same place, he books on my behalf and I take the van with him.

For Fanny, who uses the service every day to go to high school, it’s her elder sister who books for her via her smartphone.

I like the service because it goes fast.

Paulo, doesn’t have a smartphone (yet) but his mother books his trips every Wednesday and Thursday through the app.

What is great is that you can book at any time. Sometimes we have a teacher who is absent or we have free time slot in our timetable. When the service did not exist, I stayed at school or I took line 8 but it does not come all the time.

Many high school students use the service, we ask Véronique, a driver of the La Saire TAD Demand-Responsive Transport if she meets other types of public.

It’s  true that I carry mostly middle school and high school students. Sometimes I carry 5-6 of them from the same class! There are some adults too, especially during the holidays. After that, since we are in the countryside, there are older people. For them, the service is not optimal because they have to get off at the stops where classic buses come to go to the city center. The minibus itself is not really suitable for the elderly, the door is difficult to close but it seems that it will evolve!

It is a service suitable for children and teens who don’t live in the city center. Here we also have sport complexes that offers a lot of activities in the afternoon. There are children we’re picking up out of class, we bring them home and then, an hour later, we bring them back to their sports activities. For the parents, it is very practical because they don’t have to go back and forth in the middle of the day anymore. We are 3 to run the service 3x24h per week, from Monday to Saturday, except on Sundays and public holidays so we relieve the parents a lot during the week.

About La Saire TAD DRT service

Launched in July 2019 in partnership with Zephirbus (Keolis group), La Saire TAD Demand-Responsive Transport  service aims to ease the access to the heart of the city of Cherbourg from the peripheral municipalities, especially those located on the eastern part of the territory. Its +900 trips per month score an average of 4.9 / 5.

Read more (in French)

Meet other users of Dynamic Demand-Responsive Transport

To respect their anonymity, the first names of the interviewees have been modified.